TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 10, 2025

A third federal judge said today he would block President Donald Trump’s effort to curtail automatic birthright citizenship for babies born to undocumented parents. According to Reuters, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante in New Hampshire  issued a preliminary injunction preventing the executive order from taking effect. The move comes after federal judges in Maryland and Washington state issued separate injunctions last week blocking the order's enforcement nationwide. A lawyer for the ACLU, which brought the case, argued the order violated the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause and a 1898 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that recognized citizenship regardless of parents' immigration status. A U.S. Justice Department attorney contended that the plaintiffs were relying on non-binding parts of the ruling, which only guaranteed citizenship for children of parents who permanently resided in the country.